Laura Dern reveals how understanding her 'own sexuality' has changed in her 50s
Laura Dern never understood her "own self or her own sexuality" when she was in her 20s.
Laura Dern has finally started understanding her own "sexuality" in her 50s.
The Big Little Lies star, who turned 59 last month, has opened up abut aging and the idea of exploring sexuality through her acting roles.
She told AARP: "You know, it's interesting. What they think you want to explore as a female actor is so bizarre.
"Like to explore sexuality at 20 in my case meant, ‘Tell me who you want me to be, or what you think is sexy or pretty, and I’ll try to mimic that in a film. I don’t know my own self or my own sexuality yet.’
"But at 50, it’s like, ‘This is what’s interesting. This is what’s sexy. That’s what’s unattractive. This is what feels human.’ Vulnerability is sexuality."
Although the Jurassic Park star is enjoying the way "the complexity of character" she's drawn to has "expanded" over the years, Laura thinks Hollywood still has some way to go.
She said: ""We all know what it’s like to be a kid, but we don’t know how to grow old.
"And we don’t know how to find community around it, and how to talk about our fear of disease, of losing life, of losing loved ones.
"It’s pretty amazing in a community of storytellers that there are hardly any stories about that, and yet it’s inescapable for us all to face."
Laura recently insisted while she has been afforded the space to grow and mature in the spotlight, the same can not be said for all women in the public eye.
Speaking to The Independent newspaper, she shared: "Lately, I have never seen more shame around ageing and women as public figures, and it’s just so tragic."
Laura is good friends with Sheryl Crow, and she's lavished praise on her showbiz pal, observing that the singer is "hotter than ever".
She said: "She’s more bad*** than ever. She sounds better. She’s hotter than ever! And yet, [we’re still hearing] this old story of needing to hide, or fix all the stuff that shows our wisdom."
Laura is the daughter of actors Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd, and she's recalled overhearing conversations about women ageing in the movie business.
She shared: "It’s so much worse now than for my mother’s generation. I remember, when I was a child, hearing her friends talk about the pressure at 70 to get a facelift if you wanted to keep working.
"But now I’m hearing my 21-year-old daughter’s friends say, ‘You should get Botox now so that you’re never wrinkled.’"
